[email protected]|
[email protected] |
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I saw War Machine on the euro-tour 2000 and liked the band… Although Kelly’s been interviewed before (as Detestation) in this zine, I asked him if another interview is okay and he said yes. I’ve tried to avoid topics taken up in the Detestation interview. 1. Band introduction; a brief history, band members, discography and anything essential, please. Do you feel you got sort of a flying start (because of Detestation) with this band? Kelly: OK, here’s
the story: In the fall of 1998, Detestation did a 10 week tour in Europe. After
the tour Dominic + Brian, our drummer and guitarist, went back to Portland,
while Saira, our singer, and I stayed in Europe to travel for a while. After
living at the Køpi
squat in Berlin for a little more than a month, the problems in me and Saira’s
personal relationship became too much to deal with, so we split up after being
together for 5½ years! Meanwhile, back in
Portland, Brian and Dominic started to get tired of waiting for us to return, so
they started a band with Kevin and Alex from Axiom called War Machine. When I finally
returned to America at the end of June ’99, Alex had just quit War Machine, so
I started playing bass. None of us really knew what was going on with Saira, and
since the last we heard she was planning on staying in Germany (plus we
weren’t really communicating after our break-up), we decided to forget about
Detestation and concentrate on War Machine. It felt pretty much the same, since
it was everyone except Saira, so we kind of saw it as a continuation of
Detestation. I don’t really
think it’s a matter of War Machine using the name Detestation to get a flying
start, it’s more to do with the fact that, as ¾ of Detestation, the three of
us have put in a lot of work to create our music. It’s not as if we’re doing
all of this for the first time – we’ve all worked very hard to get to this
point, and, besides that, we couldn’t escape the stigma of our “ex-bands”
if we tried! Oh, yeah –
discography. So far we’ve released a split LP with YANKEE WUSS, and a s/t
7”, both of which can be ordered from us (12”=6.00 US, 10.00 world 7”= 3.00 US, 5.00 world). We’ll be releasing a lot more
stuff soon… Keep your ears open! 2. What do you think of drugs? Should cannabis (or other drugs) be legalized? And what about alcohol? Why do you think it seems to be so glorified within the punk scene? And why do you think the age for buying alcohol is so high in the States? I like some drugs,
others can be a drag. I think that as long as people keep themselves and their
drugs use under control, there’s no problem. Unfortunately, in many cases,
that’s quite difficult. I’ve seen many lives destroyed by drugs. In fact,
about 2 weeks before I’m writing this a friend of mine, Gin, in Austin Texas
died of a heroin overdose. But, after all
I’ve seen, I still think that all drugs should be legalized. People
should be able to make their own life choices. The drugs, if people want them,
should be available – of course, along with lots of information about the
risks and dangers involved with using them, as well as information about
addiction treatment. Too much trouble and expense, people say? Not nearly as
much as we put into the prison and drug enforcement industries to imprison and
punish people whose major crimes were either using or selling drugs to escape
the miserable life offered to most people in this wretched society.
Unfortunately, legalization is only a dream – in this country way too
many jobs, tax money, and cash from confiscated property are created by the
criminalization of drugs. (Maybe yes, but on the other hand – think of that
the dealers would have to pay tax, they could put taxes for importation, etc –
I’m sure they could make a pretty penny out of legalization, too. /ed) Cannibus = boring.
That’s just my opinion, but I still think that the fact that it’s illegal is
absurd. Drinking. I like to
drink – OK, I love to drink. Why is it so glorified? Because drinking
is great! Yeah, it causes a lot of problems, and I feel that people (yes,
including myself!) need to be careful and look at how their drinking affects
their lives and those around them. Drinking laws.
Amerikkka has a lot of pointless, backwards laws, and the 21 year age limit on
alcohol is one of them. Stupid, since it doesn’t stop anyone. I think it’s
all financial, as usual. It gives the cops something to do, which means jobs,
and also quite a bit of money is generated through fines and penalties (not to
mention free labor through community service penalties) from either kids caught
drinking or from adults caught providing alcohol or selling it. Bullshit. 3. What are your views on genetical modification and cloning? What if it could be used to save or bring back species from extinction? Or other beneficial things (beneficial for others than the wallets of business men, that is)? I don’t know a
whole lot about this subject, except it’s a really big, bad issue in the
lefty/anarcho scene right now. Sorry, can’t seem to keep up on all the
issues, can I? 4. Do you think the recent WTO/WB/IMF riots (demonstrations?) are a sign of a higher political awareness or is it just a one-time phenomenom? Are we going towards a new sort of activism? Do you think the people will win over the giants? Mega-corporations
and monopolies are a big scare at the moment. I hope this continues, this mass
political awareness, but I don’t have a lot of hope for the “normal
people”. I was at a job a
couple of months ago, and I happened to mention to a guy I was working with that
some friends were at the WTO demo (I couldn’t go ‘cos I was on tour at the
time, but Kevin and Brian were there… Brian was even shot with a plastic
bullet! How’s that for some anarchopunk points!?!). His reply was:
“Oh, yeah? Were they just there to cause trouble?” He didn’t mean that as
an insult, or a joke, but he was dead serious. That’s how most
Americans view the whole thing: just a bunch of wierdos causing trouble in the
streets for no reason. Bull-fucking-shit. Humans are doomed. 5. Do we really need money? Trading stuff is quite popular in the punk scene, but do you think that will work in the long run, or will people substitute it with something else (like squirrel skins were used before there were money)? I mean, some people seem to think of 7”s as some sort of currency, don’t they? Well, I’ve got
bills to pay, and my landlord doesn’t accept 7”s or patches. Yeah, in the
punk scene trading works well… if you want more punk stuff. It
doesn’t work so well once you need stuff like food or rent or plane tickets.
In the punk scene we like to really pat ourselves on the back and say we’ve
created an entire society as an alternative to the norm, when in fact pretty
much all we’ve created is a worldwide entertainment, media, and mutual
festivity scene. Only in some small ways have we gone beyond that to
create some really important alternatives, such as housing (where squatting is
possible) and food (community gardens and co-ops) and transportation (bike
collectives). But where are the anarchopunk dentist offices? Leftist telephone
networks? Punk rock music shops or equipment manufactures? The list goes on and
on. We are a culture that exists primarily as a temporary escape from mainstream
culture, and that exists only because of our reliance upon the institutions
present in the mainstream society. It’s all fun, games and 7” EP’s until
someone breaks a leg, isn’t it? The issues of
currency and capital are very complex, but I don’t really see anything wrong intrinsically
with money (substitute whatever currency you want: clam shells, squirrel skins,
Amebix patches, or War Machine EP’s!). It’s like the old saying “Guns
don’t kill people, people kill people!” Just substitute the word
money for guns and you’ve got the same thing. It’s people’s greed,
stupidity, and endless lust for more that causes the problems, not the
capitalist system of currency re-imbursement for time, labor and goods. Like
nearly all social and political systems, capitalist theory looks pretty
good on paper. It’s only when you add real people with real emotions, wants,
needs and problems to the equation that you run into real trouble. 6. On your gig in Helsinki, Finland, I noticed increased violent dancing in the pit (people waving their clenched fists around with no respect for those whose face it hit)… What do you think of this, and what is there to do about it? (Maybe it wasn’t
as bad as it sounds here, but in my opinion even the slightest violent dancing
is shit – I mean, push each others around as much as you want, but do it with
respect. I don’t mind getting bruises, but I do mind getting a fist in my
face… /ed) Actually I didn’t
notice that. We try to be pretty aware of what’s happening at our gigs, and if
it looks like there’s any macho violent bullshit going on, we definitely try
to stop and say something. I won’t be the background music for any violent
shit. But, it’s the crowd’s responsibility as well… It’s your scene,
deal with it in such a way that people know that if they wanna dance they can do
it without fucking each other up. 7. You don’t do much to make your records stand out musically/graphically (I don’t refer to quality but originality) – why do you think punk has turned into a certain style & why don’t people do more original stuff (think of the Bluebird LP by Riot/Clone, for instance)? Is punk just another music genre? Why do you think
punk has turned into such a style? It’s been like this for more
than 20 years! There’s a certain
style of imagery and music that really appeals to me, and that’s what I (we)
create. If it’s generic, too bad. We do what we like. I really respect bands a
lot that do something really original that’s good (original doesn’t
always = good!) such as Post Regiment, Submission Hold, Guts Pie Earshot,
Headache, or many others, and maybe someday I’d like to branch out a bit as
well. But, as for War Machine, we are what we are – no apologies. 8. Are you, in any way, familiar with the internet? Positive/negative sides in it? What do you think of the rapid development of technology? Will it widen the gap between rich and poor? The internet is a
very handy tool. But, like any tool it can be used destructively: a hammer can
build a school or it can be used to bash in someone’s skull. Once again,
it’s the same old story of humans being lazy and wanting everything, now. I don’t really
know how it will widen the rich/poor gap. If you mean as far as buying the
technology and affording the services, well I remember in the early 80’s when
VCR’s were very expensive and a huge luxury. It was a very special thing for
my family, in 1982 or 83, to go to the video store and rent a VCR and
some movies for a night. Only the rich could afford such an extravagance. Well,
now VCR’s are in nearly every home, and they’re very cheap. (But then there
are those who are REALLY poor and can’t even afford a home…/ed) The same with
computers. They’ll keep getting cheaper and more available. Look at it this
way: software companies, computer manufacturers and internet providers have a
lot to sell, and they’ll make a lot of more money from everyone owning the
technology than just an elite few. 9. You were on tour in Europe recently and at least Kelly has spent a lot of time over here… I’m sure you have experienced a lot over here, so share some of your travelling stories with me, please. Have you found the differences between the U.S. and European scenes big? Yeah, I guess I’ve
probably seen more of Europe than most Europeans, from Dublin to Prague, from
Athens to Oslo, from Lisbon to Helsinki. I’ve done 5 tours in Europe with my
own bands, and several more with others’ bands, as a roadie, driver or
seat-occupier. I’ve had a lot of
insane adventures – being arrested in Italy on suspicion of having drugs,
fighting skinheads in Poland, trouble with Estonian military, car accidents,
love affairs… too much. One of my favorite
stories was from when I was staying on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Me and my
friend Toni, from the awesome band Bad Taste, were getting totally pissed at the
local pub. For some reason, everyone was giving us drugs that night – hashish
(which I gave away), pot (which I stuck in my pocket to give away later), and
mushrooms (which Toni and I ate!). So, we drank until very
late, when the pub closed and we were kicked out into the dark, empty streets of
Palma. By this time, the mushrooms had really started to kick in, and we were
high as fucking kites. Out of beer, no place to go, and flying high. Well, we
decided that there was no way that this party of two was going to end
that easily, so we kicked in the door of the nearest pub, which was closed, and
“liberated” two crates of fine Spanish beer. We were running down the
streets, laughing our heads off, completely insane on booze, mushrooms, and
adrenaline, carrying our loot back to Toni’s flat for immediate consumption,
when the cop saw us. Obviously we looked a bit suspicious, so of course he
stopped us. Instantly, it
seemed, I became very sober. I realized the potential for real trouble,
and imagined myself rotting in some horrible, damp Spanish prison. Well,
whatever god watches over drunken idiots in stupid situations was merciful that
night. The cop didn’t even notice me slowly step next to some bushes and hide
the pot that had been given to me. He believed us when we said that we had bought
the beer (at 4:30 in the morning?!?), and he didn’t notice that our eyes were
the size of 10 mark coins from the mushrooms. He just checked our passports and
let us go! So, it all ended well: Toni and I drank for free and the cop probably
felt really stupid when, the next day, the report of a broken door and stolen
beer came in from the pub. As far as
differences in the scene… well, there’s even differences within
Europe that I notice. The Finnish scene is totally different in many ways than
the German scene, for instance. The main difference
between the U.S. and Europe, mainly central/west European countries like Germany
or Holland, is that it’s so much easier to live a punk lifestyle there
than in the States. Here in the U.S. there’s a huge amount of social pressure
to “grow up” or “conform”, and I just don’t feel that as strongly in
Germany. It’s there, definitely, like everywhere, but not as strong. In
America there’s nearly no possibility for gigs, no real social welfare
or dole, and no state run youth centers for gigs. But, I think our
similarities are greater than our differences. 10. Is punk rock worth all the energy it takes up – energy that could be used for political activism instead? After all, a lot of active people are too busy organising gigs, releasing records etc. to do anything else. Is punk rock a political force in any way? Well, I’m not too
interested in saving the world – people have the power to make their own
choices and save themselves, I’m not going to do it for them. (“Saving the
world” includes animals, too, and I don’t think factory farm chickens get so
many chances to liberate themselves, for instance /ed) I keep myself busy
with punk activity because it’s what’s fulfilling for me, it makes me
happier. I guess that these days I’m much too busy trying to keep myself alive
and somewhat sane, I don’t have time to “rescue” the “common person”
from the shit lives they’ve created for themselves (or allowed to be
created for them). People can liberate themselves… I don’t have the time,
energy or desire. Fuck humans. 11. I’ve gotten the picture (mainly from P.E.) that a lot of punx in the U.S. are involved in anti-prison activities… Do you think we need prisons? In an ideal society, how should we deal with crimes (such as rape & violence)? Anti-prison activism
is pretty common. The issue of prisons is a complex one. Most “crimes” are
those of commerce – robbery, drugs, etc… which exist primarily because of
the social conditions present in our society. Change the conditions, and most of
the crimes will cease to occure. Other crimes of a
more anti-community nature, such as rape and murder, are usually caused by
mental problems or other social conditions, and will always have to be dealt
with. I don’t know,
it’s a very complex issue, and I have some definite views, but I don’t want
to over-simplify things. 12. Is it possible to make a living out of DIY/punk in a fair way? Isn’t that better than spending the time on non-creative jobs? Yes, I think it is.
There are many examples. But, I don’t know if I ever could, since I’m
too fucking nuts to concentrate on one thing for long enough. I’m always
packing my shit up to disappear to some weird place for a few months, or going
on impossible tours. Maybe someday when I “settle down” a bit I’ll have
the time and concentration needed to make my record label/distro grow. Until
then it’s shitty factory jobs for me! I see no
problem living off punk if it’s in a DIY and fair manner. Better than making
some shit factory owner rich! Besides, I feel like I’ve paid my dues… I’ve
been losing money on tours, gigs, and records for years, not to mention all the
support I’ve given the scene by buying records, shirts, and paying for gigs… 13. Most HC-bands seem to be anti-religion… but is there really anything wrong with religion as a personal belief (instead of as an institution)? What do you think of Christian anarchists? There is no such
thing as a christian anarchist. If anyone calls theirselves that, they’re
idiots. I find christian, or
any other theological doctrine a fucking bunch of shit. For anyone to claim they
know all the answers is so ridiculous – anyone who claims they do is an
arrogant fool. I don’t have any of the answers. Fuck, I don’t even
consider myself to be an atheist, because to claim that there’s no god is to
claim to know. How the fuck should I
know anything? Why should I even care? The
thing I hate most about christians is the threatening nature of their
doctrine: “Believe and accept, or go to HELL!” If you don’t
accept that basic tenet, then don’t fucking call yourself a christian,
because that’s what it’s all based on. I’ve read more of the old and new
testaments than most christians, and nowhere does it say “You believe
what you believe, and I’ll believe what I believe… and we can respect each
other”. No, it says, basically “Believe this, or burn in Hell forever!” Fuck that. Now I’m getting mad. 14. How did you get into punk? What attracted you in it? What keeps you interested over the years? Your first punk record? I got into metal,
mainly death metal first. In about 1985 a friend played me the S.O.D. “Speak
English or Die” record, and told me “This is punk!” Up until then I had
heard of a lot of punk bands – Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Exploited, Pistols,
etc., but wasn’t too interested – I even remember my parents talking about
punk in the 70’s, and my mom was always a big Devo, Blondie, and Talking Heads
fan. But for me, that S.O.D. record, as fucked as it is, was heavy enough to
make me interested. I started skating, listening to more and more punk stuff,
and in 1987 I started my first punk band, Death Squad (yeah, I know… there’s
a million of them!). I grew and progressed from there, but it all started
with one really fucked up, racist shit band like S.O.D…. Funny how things
work. 15. Do you have much anti-car culture activism in the U.S. (such as Street Party or Critical Mass)? Are you involved in it? Is public transportation good where you live? Yeah, Portland’s
got an active bike scene, and a pretty decent bus system. I’ve been a bike fan
for years, although I’ve owned a few cars. Bike power, baby! 16. Anything to add? Future plans? Thanks for the long
interview, hope my answers were OK. We plan to continue to make noise well into
the future, either as War Machine or in other bands – at this point it’s not
important. (I’m in at least 4 bands anyway…) Contact us via mail: 1951
W. Burnside #1654 Portland OR, 97209, USA, or
me directly at: [email protected]
or Brian + Dom at [email protected]
Cheers! Kelly | Main page |
